Captivity by Ann Herendeen

mind. Though I recoiled at this union with
Reynaldo, as repulsed as when he had forced himself on me, the
completeness of my connection with Dominic made my participation
unavoidable. I stood propped against the wall and, linked in
communion with Dominic, fucked Reynaldo until he screamed.
    To Reynaldo’s men the spectacle was the more
frightening for its unintelligibility. They had no clear idea of
what was happening, saw only that their leader was having some kind
of fit, could barely speak, could not stand upright, and shook
like– Like a man being buggered , one man thought. But the
idea made no sense; there was no visible rapist. The men stood well
away, their hands on their weapons, muttering incantations and
making the sign against evil in my direction. “Sibyl, witch,” they
whispered of me. “Better to let them go and have done with it.”
    It is an ancient ritual, more often symbolic
than physical: anal penetration as humiliation of a despised enemy.
Dominic chose it for that reason, and also because he knew that
Reynaldo had attempted a kind of violation of me. By now, acting in
concert with my husband, I knew there was a third reason. Dominic, vir and dominant, enjoyed coerced sexual relations—rape—at
least in thought. He had never indulged this taste with me, nor
with Stefan and Niall, or I could not have loved him. Not for years
had he allowed himself this ugly forbidden pleasure.
    Now Dominic had a reason, and he made the
most of it. His wild laugh shrieked in my mind as my husband
unleashed the latent cruelty that had been chained within his
deepest subconscious during years of domestic tranquility, subdued
but not extinguished.
    For Dominic, as for any telepath, crypta is more important than looks or social graces or even
intelligence when choosing a sexual partner. Despite Reynaldo’s
dirt and debased condition, he was still a man, a man with crypta . That matters more than anything. Forcing himself on
a gifted man gave Dominic pleasure. That it could be justified as
an act of retribution made it all the sweeter. Dominic found every
way to increase Reynaldo’s pain, ending the episode only when there
was no more he could do.
    Dominic withdrew from the bandit’s mind,
wiping himself off in disgusted thought, as he would cleanse his
body if the rape had been real. I have defiled myself with
you , he said to Reynaldo. There was a note of madness in his
voice. I have contaminated myself to show you that I do not lie.
You were warned, what you did to my wife or my children I would do
tenfold to you, but you do not listen .
    Reynaldo sobbed as Dominic sent one last
realized thought, the kick of a booted foot against the abused
flesh. Margrave , Reynaldo said, I wanted only to know
where you were, to make arrangements for ransom .
    And ‘Gravina Aranyi told you , Dominic
said, but you were not satisfied; you had to force yourself on
her . Abruptly Dominic switched his attention to me. Amalie,
dearest, it will not be long . I will be with you soon
and they will all pay, all who have dared to touch you or insult
you .
    The transition from rage to loving kindness
was almost, but not quite, complete. For the first time in my life
with Dominic, some of his own hidden madness leaked into his
communion with me. Dominic had neither touched nor spoken to me
roughly, nor done anything but address me in the warmest, most
solicitous way, yet I sensed this element in him, like a wild
falcon flailing its wings against being shut up again so soon in
the deepest recesses of my husband’s disciplined mind. I felt a
twinge of uneasiness at my first direct encounter with this part of
Dominic that delighted in cruelty and torture. It had tasted
freedom after more than six years. Dominic would not be able to
contain it again so easily.
    My love , I thought to him, hoping to
calm him. I will be safe. The bandits fear you now, more than
ever. They will do nothing to make you angry . I reached for him
with words and thought,